Two Roses
by James R. O'Neill
Summary: Sequel to my First story Rose Petals. Fox and Krystal are safely away on their Honeymoon to Sauria. Pleiades saved, convoy escorted, Panther dead. Or is he? Panther is Back and he's got plans for revenge! Rated M for later Sexual Content
1. The First Rose in Bloom

**Hey everyone! So here's the first chapter of my first Rose Petals Sequel, Two Roses. It's good to be back! If you haven't read my first story, I suggest that you do before reading this. For returning veterans, enjoy!**

**FYI: Sexual materiel will be more abundant in this story than in its predecessor. Though not as long and/or descriptive. Do you like lemon juice? I do. ;p**

**FYI 2: Italics represent thoughts, dreams, and flashbacks.**

Prologue: Rose Poem

_**Two Roses.**_

_**First Rose in Bloom, The Second Rose Wilting,**_

_**The First Rose Stands Tall, The Second is Tilting.**_

_**The Two were once Three Flowers, Two Red, and One Blue,**_

_**And the Third was Desired, by the First Two.**_

_**When One Beat the Other, their Colors did Change,**_

_**And became Opposites, on the Color Scheme Range.**_

_**Now Two Roses, One White, and One Black,**_

_**The First is in danger of impending attack.**_

_**The Second Determined, Its Revenge to Complete,**_

_**Before being Devoured, by the Sun's Raging Heat.**_

Chapter 1: The First Rose in Bloom

The sun began to peek over the mountains surrounding the Walled City. As its rays began to spread across the landscape, the various members of Sauria's Earthwalker Tribe began to stir from their slumber, yawing and stretching their large stumpy legs.

On the outer edge of the city, a small Cornerian leisure shuttle sat in a clearing. Inside, on the bedroom's queen-size bed, two foxes lay curled up side by side. One fox, a male, had light brown fur with a single white stip on top of his head, while the other, a vixen, was a beautiful shade of deep blue. Fox's hand was draped over Krystal's stomach, as the newly weds lay resting their sore bodies.

Truthfully, there hadn't been much sleeping the past few nights, and what little sleep the couple did get was appreciated by both. Most of the past few nights had consisted of sex, working out the tension that had built up between them over the 4 years that they'd known each other. It wasn't that either Fox or Krystal didn't enjoy it, but it was having a negative effect on their energy levels. It was just so hard to restrain themselves.

However, none of that mattered right now, as both foxes were enjoying a long snooze. The first rays of sunshine began coming through the view port of the bedroom, catching Krystal full in the face. The vixen's eyes squeezed tighter closed, trying to block out the irritating beams. Krystal let out a quiet groan and shielded her eyes with her blue-furred hands. Her eye's opened a squint, seeking the bedside clock. She could discern the red glow from the clock's readout through her blurred vision, but couldn't make out the time. She paused and whined for a moment, then reluctantly dropped her hands to reach for the clock. Picking it up, she held it close to her face. _6:30? Damn it, Fox! Why didn't you change the light setting?_ Krystal put down the clock and pulled back the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. She hugged her arms around her naked form, and gingerly stood up, her body ached all over and her tail felt numb and crooked.

Hugging herself tighter she walked over to the window, and tapped a few buttons on the light filter control. The room instantly turned dark as the filter did its job, blocking the light from outside. Sighing with relief, Krystal slid back under the covers and cuddled up to Fox, covering her ass with her tail so that it didn't come in contact with certain areas as she snuggled with him. She closed her eyes contentedly, and began breathing deeply, trying to get back to sleep. As she did she thought about the last couple of days. Their wedding and Panther's crashing of same, their first night together, and their arrival on Sauria. She drifted off to sleep and dreamed of that first day.

_Fox and Krystal sat in the cockpit of their Honeymoon shuttle. The shuttle was in orbit above Sauria, and they were beginning their descent to the surface, heading for the Walled City. They had just eaten, and each was smiling contentedly at the other. Krystal giggled. "Why are you laughing?" Fox asked amused at his wife's sudden outburst._

"_Just happy, I guess." Krystal said sweetly. "Plus, you've got this look on your face." She imitated Fox's look, which seemed something like a lazy loving gaze._

"_What's wrong with my look?" Fox grinned at Krystal. She giggled again._

"_Nothing at all, I think it's very cute." Krystal leaned in and gave her husband a kiss. Fox kissed her back. They started to kiss deeply, clasping each other tighter. As the kissing continued, the two lovers fell to the floor, Fox on top of Krystal._

"_Mmm...Fox...?" Krystal spoke as best she could with his lips against hers._

"_Mmm hmm?" Fox answered still kissing her._

"_I... mmm...don't think...we have..mmm..time...mmm...for this..." Krystal giggled between kisses._

"_Mmm hmm." Fox agreed uncaringly. Krystal giggled some more, hugging Fox closer. After a minute of deep kissing Krystal muffled voice said._

"_Maybe just a quickee." Fox picked her up, still kissing, and they disappeared into the bedroom, locking the door behind them._

_As Fox and Krystal's ship touched down in a clearing outside the main city, a group of Earth Walkers, including their mutual friend Tricky, gathered round the small alien craft. As king, it was Tricky's job to greet any visitors to Sauria, which had become more frequent since Corneria had set up an outpost near Cape Claw. Right now, there were only a few non-Saurians planetside, conducting different kinds of mapping surveys, and research expeditions, as well as harvesting Sauria's Horned Lobsters for transport back to Corneria._

_The hatch of the small ship opened, and Fox and Krystal stepped out into the sun, Tricky's face lit up with excitement. "Fooooxxxxssss!" he cried running towards his friend._

_Fox's face took on a horrified expression, and put out his hands in a "Stay back!" fashion. Tricky kept right on coming though, and leaped into the air, coming straight at Fox. Fox was ready this time; however, and rolled to the side. Tricky landed with an earth shaking thud on the ground where Fox had just been standing. "I thought you said you weren't going to do that again!" Fox yelled at the giant Earth Walker._

"_Sorry, I couldn't help it." Tricky apologized. Krystal walked over and hugged Tricky's snout._

"_It's good to see, you again, Tricky."_

"_You too, Krystal." Krystal released him, and took a step back to stand next to Fox. "So, what're you guys doing here?" Tricky asked curiously. "You guys on your Honeymoon or something?" The two foxes smiled at each other and then at their friend._

"_As a matter of fact..." Krystal said mischievously holding up her left hand. Tricky's eyes widened as the two rings caught the light. Krystal giggled. "We are."_

"_No way!" Tricky laughed and rushed forward. He knocked the two foxes off their feet, and nuzzled them affectionately. Krystal laughed and tried to push him away. "That's so great! When did you guys get married?" The Earth Walker King was eager to know every detail._

"_Yesterday," Krystal was doing most of the talking. "On Corneria."_

"_Great! I'm so happy for you?" Tricky nudged Fox as he let them up. "Hey, Fox? Did you use that ring I gave you?" Fox dusted himself off._

"_Yeah, I proposed with it." _

"_No way! Let me see!" Krystal held up her hand again, and showed Tricky her rings. _

"_It was very sweet of you to give Fox this ring." Krystal said looking down at it with pride. "Thank you, Tricky."_

"_No problem! So how long are you guys staying?"_

"_A couple weeks." Fox answered. "We're going to tour the planet!"_

"_Awesome! I can't wait to show you gu—!"_

A loud banging sound resounded through the ship, jolting both Fox and Krystal awake. The two foxes bolted upright and grabbed hold of each other as the ship shook. "What's the hell's going on Fox?" Krystal enquired frightened.

"I don't know!" Fox said clutching Krystal closer to him. There questions were answered by a familiar voice from outside.

"Fox! Krystal! You up yet?" Tricky's voice enquired, muffled by the bulkhead. Fox and Krystal closed their eyes in bitter realization.

"Oh no." Krystal moaned releasing Fox and falling back against the pillows. Fox placed his forehead between his thumb and forefinger, stroking it with them.

"What time is it?" he groaned. Krystal turned her head to look at the clock. She half frowned, half glared at it for a moment, before turning back to Fox.

"7," she spat. Both foxes moaned again.

"I am so sorry about this, Krystal." Fox looked apologetically at his wife. She shook her head staring at the ceiling.

"It's not your fault." Fox got up and put on a pair of his discarded boxer shorts.

"I'll go get rid of him," he assured her as he began to dress himself.

"Be nice." Krystal called after him, turning her head to look out the dimmed window. The walled city glowed orange in the early morning sunlight.

"Back in a minute," Fox whispered loudly as he walked out into the living area.

"Hurry back!" she urged him. No sooner had Fox disappeared from view, than a giant eye blocked Krystal's view of the city. Krystal screamed and pulled the blankets over her head to cover herself. She knew Tricky couldn't really see anything but black shapes through that window, but it was the principle of the thing, and she wouldn't herself be exposed to anyone but Fox.

Fox rushed back into the room. "What is it, Krystal? What happened?" he asked frantically. Krystal sat up, clutching the sheet to her.

"Tricky!" she exclaimed pointing at the window. Fox got the message and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. He turned and stomped out again toward the hatch. Krystal exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes as well. "Go easy on him, Fox! He didn't know!" She lay back on her pillow, and pulled the large blanket over herself. Turning on her side she closed her eyes and attempted to fall back asleep. Krystal heard the hatch open and Fox walk out. She sighed. _What a way to start the morning._

**So there ya go! Leave a Review! Thanks. Oh and btw, I wrote the poem in the beginning! :)**


	2. Black Rose Wilting

**Guys I'm really depressed right now. All this stuff I've been reading and watching about Command is bringing me down way low. I just don't any negative story related (for command) stuff out there!! Everyone seems to love the game and hate Krystal! And frankly I don't see much hope for a good sequel! If they can betray KrystalxFox fans so easily, they can do it again! And if the next game (if there is one) comes out and it's got Krystal as a bad guy or dead or Kursed, I'm done with the whole thing! And not just Star Fox, Nintendo as a whole! Command is really tearing me apart! I could literally walk into Nintendo right now and start shooting people! *sobs* Sorry about that, I was rambling. I just need to know there's more KrystalxFox Fans out there! A lot more! I encourage you to do all you can to help out the cause! Just something to think about. KrystalxFox Forever!!!! So here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 2: Black Rose Wilting

Panther Caroso's black furred body loped down a sidewalk on Corneria. It was raining, and the black furred feline didn't feel a thing. A bottle of whiskey was grasped firmly in his right hand. After being shot down, he had made one last blind effort at revenge, destroying the object of his affection. Krystal. He felt nothing, he was nothing. She'd rejected him, lead him on first then left him for his rival Fox McCloud. It was only 2 days ago that he'd been washed up on the Cornerian coast, covered in seaweed and soaked to the very bone in seawater. But he'd hardly noticed any of it. Mechanically he'd made his way into Corneria City and rented a room the Luna Stone hotel. For 2 days he'd gone without eating, barely sleeping, his mind clouded by visions of the blue furred goddess whose life he'd extinguished in an insane fit of rage. He hadn't even turned on a TV. It would have been to painful as her death would be all over the news. McCloud and his friends would be just as grief stricken as he was, he assumed. McCloud might even come after him, if he knew Panther was alive. Night after night Panther's sobs could be heard through the walls of the hotel. They grated on the ears, even Panther's, but he couldn't stop himself. Once the rage had subsided the pureness of forgotten months returned to receive the injuries, much like a man who goes out of town and leaves his house with his brother, comes home to find his home destroyed by a drunken party. Panther felt horrible. He had killed his love. He had only fired because he had thought at the time that he too would soon be dead, and he would reunite with Krystal in the afterlife. But he had survived, and she was dead.

Panther kicked an empty beer bottle habitually into the street. The rain was starting to pick up into a full blown storm, and lighting flashed overhead, followed swiftly by a loud crash of thunder. A black hover car passed Panther's left, splashing up a large wave of puddled water into the distraught cat's face. Panther didn't seem to notice. He was almost back to the hotel now, just one more turn.

The relatively small building was rather more luxurious on the inside than on the outside. The lobby was painted in white and black. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and many expensive paintings by famous Cornerian artists hung in random places. Flowers, Cornerian Blue Roses, were placed in intricate vases in strategic points throughout the room to give it a splash of much needed color. The largest bouquet, consisting of many Cornerian varieties, was behind the front desk, covering a large painting depicting the Star Fox Team staring regally out into space.

Panther, however, had no thoughts to spare for the beauty of a room. His eyes no longer could give him that comfort. He walked past the greetings of the desk clerk, and straight into the hotel convenience store. Without speaking he pointed at a pack of cigarettes and laid the currency chips on the counter. After spending 2 days and nights in a hotel room alone with his thoughts of guilt, Panther thought an afternoon walk might help to calm his nerves. It hadn't. Instead, Panther became even more depressed, and had wound up at the liquor store, where he had bought the whiskey. Now going for the combo, he took the pack of cigarettes and stashed them away in his flight suit pocket. Panther left the alcove of the store and made his way over to row of shiny turbo-lift doors. As he pressed the "UP" button, the door swished aside allowing him access. Pressing the button for the third floor, Panther continued on in his mental funk, trying to forget everything that had happened. Of course, as in all cases, the more he tried not to think about it, the more he did. Millions of tiny flashbacks occurred passed in front of his empty eyes. Krystal smiling, laughing, sobbing, glaring, screaming in fear. Panther's head hurt. All those memories were only ghosts of another time, another place, not this cruel environment of heartlessness that surrounded him. Being on Star Wolf, Panther had come across heartlessness on a regular basis. He himself was heartless. And yet with all that experience, he had been hit hard by Krystal's cold indifference, her icy tones, her vindictive glare.

The door of the lift swished open and Panther stumbled down the hallway, looking drunk. He staggered past door, after door, after door of empty rooms until at the very end of the hallway his own door presented itself. Swiping his key card through the slot, Panther stumbled forward into the dark room. The curtains were drawn and the bed hadn't been made by housekeeping. One could have deduced at first glance the state of mind the occupant was in.

He place the whiskey bottle on the bedside table and collapsed onto the bed. Reaching into the night table's drawer the sorrowful jungle cat pulled out a small matchbox, simultaneously withdrawing the cigarette case and shedding the shrinkwrap seal. He selected one of the tobacco rolls, and placed it between his teeth, then lit a match and held the burning stick up to light it. Panther took a few short puffs to start, then inhaled a large drag of smoke, exhaling a dark cloud into the room, enjoying the sensation. He removed the cork in the bottle with his claws and reached for the television remote. Even these temporary distractions wouldn't satisfy him for long he knew. He tossed back the bottle and let the throat burning liquid slide down his esophagus before replacing it on the table. Panther pressed the power button on the remote and the large screen in front of him flashed to life with a short static burst. "In other news," a red furred vixen was saying from her newsroom. "There was a massive accident today on I-45 involving–" the vixen's description was cut short as Panther turned the channel. The next channel was a gardening show. Click. Cooking show. Click. Cartoons. Click. Celebrity news. Panther stopped on this channel. "—their divorce is supposed to be finalized next Tuesday." Another vixen, this time with brown fur, was smiling fakely into the camera. Panther always loved hearing about the "other half"'s goings on. It was always soothing to hear a good piece of gossip.

"Well folks it's finally happened!" The vixen barked excitedly. "Fox McCloud and Krystal of the Star Fox Team tied the knot this past Sunday onboard the _Pleiades_, General Peppy Hare's personal Space Liner!" Panther gritted his teeth. Wasn't there other more scandalous stories to run that wasn't going to dredge up the tragedy that he had caused. He didn't think he could take it. What puzzled him was that the vixen was being so disrespectful to Krystal's memory? Why wasn't she speaking in darker tones to be reverent? "There was a bit of fuss caused by Krystal's jealous bad boy boyfriend, Panther Caroso, who disrupted the reception by firing at the unprotected ship. Luckily, Star Fox crushed Panther with minimal casualties, including the loss of their home, _Great Fox II." _Panther sat up in bed and stared wonderingly at the TV screen, his eyes widening at the sudden hope this report had given him.

"It can't be!" Panther muttered disbelievingly.

"The McClouds sustained minor injuries, despite Panther's final attempt to kill Krystal! In a heroic show of manly love, Fox is said to have rammed his ship into Krystal's to save her from a horrific death, taking the broadside of the hit for her! How much more romantic can this be?" Panther's cigarette dropped from his quivering jaws on the blanket, where it smoked idly.

"My darling Krystal is...." Panther let his voice trail off, half afraid that if he said the word "alive" the hostess would take it all back and confirm Krystal's death. Relief and affection radiated from Panther as his heart swelled. Krystal was alive and well! All the guilt he felt was instantly eclipsed by this one simple fact. Back on TV, the announcer was continuing.

"Our sources tell us that the newly weds departed the military hospital later that night, and our currently spending their Honeymoon in an unknown location. If you ask me, my bet would be Sauria." The vixen winked. "Happy Honeymoon Fox and Krystal! We here at CEN wish you both good luck and many years of happiness!"

The report ended and Panther switched off the monitor. He could breathe again. A great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hurriedly got up out of bed and threw the curtains aside. Light flooded the room and Panther threw open the window, letting the rain splash against his fur, which was still soaked. The air was fresher and crisper, like spring should be. Nothing mattered anymore except that Krystal was alive! She was alive! He had not killed her! His "love" bloomed in his chest and he howled with pleasure.

Withdrawing his head from the rain, Panther brushed the water from his face and looked around in disgust at the state of his room. "Filthy. How does anyone live like this?" Returning to his bed, Panther picked up the half smoked cigarette and tossed it threw the open window. As he began to make it, he suddenly stopped, realizing how tired he was. He hadn't slept in days, Krystal haunted his dreams. Pulling the blankets back he dove into bed and snuggled his wet form into the pillows. Giving a large cat yawn he closed his eyes and began drifting towards sleep. As he did, two words echoed through his mind. _"She's alive! She's alive! She's alive!"_

**Short chapter. Leave a review. Night!**


	3. Gifts From Admirers

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My heart's not in this story, its in the sequels. I want to get past this stage and move on to more exciting Star Fox stuff. Real missions instead of Panther spoiling a perfectly good honeymoon. I guess I could write it so that Panther just leaves them alone, but that wouldn't be any fun! (For you readers, I could've had fun just piling on the romance and sexual content! ;)) If this seems a little sloppy its because I've got no inspiration at this stage, I just sit at my computer and type whatever comes to mind. And the stories I do have inspiration for are either premature to this storyline or I don't have any details on. The problem is that I've got all these ideas in my head but I can only work on one thing at a time, and I've got no words to thread the plot together. You guys know what I'm talking about right? After all you're writers too! (In some cases) and we all get writers block! Am I right? So, that's basically where I am right now in terms of writing. Sorry these Author's notes are so long, I just needed to.... what's a good word for it....umm...vent? Well, that's not exactly it, but I can't think of a good word right now! So here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

Chapter 3: Gifts from Admirers

After a rousing breakfast of PukPuk omelettes and sliced Dumbledang pods, Fox and Krystal were in their shuttle's storage areasipping coffee and examining the many wedding presents which had be forgotten in the excitement of the last few days. The stack had considerable mass, comprised mostly of jewelry, fire arms, and currency checks along with several original paintings of beautiful landscapes. Expensive, beautiful, meaningless. These had been provided by the majority of the wedding guests. The presents that meant the most were fan mail sent to the couple by their adoring fans from every corner of the Lylat system. Some of these contained money and all wished the couple best of luck. Krystal was taking particular interest in a note with messy handwriting, obviously from one of their younger fans. It read:

_Dear Mr. Fox and Ms. Krystal,_

_I am hapy you ar getting maried. Thank you for all the times you saved Lylat! You ar the best! I hope you ar happy and I really hope I get to meet you somday! My daddy and mommy both say hi to! You must lov each other very much! I hope you like the picture I drewed for you! It took me til bed time to finish! When I grow up I want to be just like you!_

_Love,_

_Randy Westy_

_P.S. Please tell Mr. Falco and Slipy I said hi!_

_P.S.S. I think you ar bootiful, Ms. Krystal!_

Krystal smiled down at the letter. She was used to all the fan mail she got as a member of Star Fox, but it was always wonderful to receive things from their younger fans. This boy couldn't be more than 4 or 5 years old! The drawing that accompanied it depicted Fox and Krystal's wedding. Fox was wearing a tuxedo and Krystal a wedding dress. Granted it didn't look like her_ actual_ wedding dress, but was a more traditional style with a wide skirt and veiled headdress. They were holding hands and smiling as Arwings flew above their heads. It was very roughly drawn in crayon and in the corner was signed: "_Fox and Krystal get Maried by Randy Westy._" Even though it was crude, Krystal thought it was one of the sweetest, most beautiful gifts she'd ever received.

"Fox, come look at this!" She beckoned him over. Fox, putting down the large assault rifle he'd be looking over, came and stood behind Krystal peering down at the letter. A small smile spread across his face and a light chuckle escaped his lips as he read the _post_,post script.

"Well, what do you know?" He smiled at Krystal. "I'm not the only one that thinks you're "bootiful!" Krystal laughed.

"Isn't that sweet?" she cooed. "And he worked so hard on the picture!" She folded the letter and picture up and put them back in their envelope, making a mental note to send a thank you to the boy later. She set it to one side and continued looking through the piles of gifts for something interesting. "You find anything from someone we actually know?" she called over to Fox who was searching a rather smaller pile on her right.

"Not yet." Fox continued rooting through the white wrapped packages, looking for names he recognized. Finally a familiar name caught his eye. "Ah-ha!" He cried pulling out a medium sized package from the messy stack. Krystal's head appeared from behind the mountain of presents she'd been searching and looked curiously down at it.

"Who's it from?" She enquired. Fox checked the tag.

"Falco," he said thinking of the blue feathered avian.

"Oh, this should be interesting!" Krystal giggled bending down. "I wonder what Falco's idea of a good wedding present is?"

"Well," Fox surmised moving to tear off the paper. "Knowing him, I bet it's a...." He let his voice trail off and his hand froze. A thought had just occurred to him. Withdrawing his hand, he looked up at his wife with a pained suspicion. "Uh, Krystal?" he blushed.

"What is it, Fox?" Krystal asked puzzled at Fox's sudden behavior.

"I really think we ought to wait on this one."

"Why?"

"Well, I have a funny feeling that...." Fox's voice again trailed off. Krystal shook her head slowly, trying to understand Fox's hesitance to open a gift from his best friend. As Fox's suspicions entered her mind, she suddenly understood. Her eyes widened and a shocked expression of realization appeared on her face.

"Oh. I...uh...whew..." she stammered trying not to blush. "I, uh, agree. Maybe...Maybe now's not the best time." Fox nodded and pushed the gift to one side. They both went back to searching and soon they each had found a gift from each of their friends. Slippy's gifts were two small, disc-like devices. The card explained that these were a new invention of his called Reflectors. They projected an energy shield in front of the user when activated, and could reflect any kind of projectile back at an attacker. In the note, Slippy explained that it could even knock back an opponent if activated with correct timing, giving him a nasty jolt. _"Unfortunately, that only works when it first activates, and it can't deflect physical attacks." _Slippy had written sadly.

Fox was particularly eager to try it out and activated the device without thinking. Immediately, a bright blue shield appeared in front of him, knocking a pile of presents across the room with a loud thud. Wincing Fox deactivated the tiny device, and smiled sheepishly at Krystal. "Sorry about that."

Krystal laughed and picked up Lucy's presents. They weren't anything major. Krystal received a new set of tail rings, while Fox got a book entitled _101 Reasons and Ways to Give Your Mate Personal Space. _When Krystal read the title she collapsed onto the floor, laughing at her friend's noseyness. Fox didn't find it quite as amusing and set the book down on Falco's present where he promptly ignored it.

Bill supplied both Fox and Krystal with new leather jackets. _At last something practical,_ Fox thought thankfully. Amanda had given several movie disks, probably with the intent of creating a romantic movie night. "That was sweet of her," Krystal mused.

General Pepper showed his regard by sending them each a bookend from his library. They were antiques, and they had a rustic look that made them glow with life. While they weren't the best of gifts Fox and Krystal both appreciated them immensely. Beltino Toad had sent them an artifact from Aquas' sea bottom he'd retrieved on one of his research trips. It was a cracked earn worn smooth by the millennia of ocean currents. Katt had gone the same route as Bill, sending them each a new headset with tactical eyepiece.

Last but not least was Peppy, who instead of buying a gift, had written them each a letter. The notes on the back of the envelope told them to open these alone. Fox and Krystal mutually agreed to open the letters later.

When at last all their friends gifts were found, Fox and Krystal straightened up to stretch themselves. "Well, is there anything else worth looking at in here?" Fox wondered aloud. Krystal raised her hands above he head intertwining her fingers from the outside in, and stretched.

"I thought I saw something a bit interesting in the back," She mused. "We could try that."

"What is it?" Fox asked curiously. Krystal shrugged.

"Statue of some kind. Follow me." Krystal turned and, taking Fox's hand, navigated the many obstacles to the back of the room. The "statue", Fox thought, wasn't really a statue. More like a giant ornate chess piece. The base was of a gold color, acting as a sort of "trophy stand" to the life-sized representation of Krystal. The image of Krystal itself, depicted her during the time of the Aparoid Invasion. She was wearing a her flight suit, and stood in a flirtatious pose, flipping her hair back. On the "stand" was engraved a strange symbol, two lines intersecting randomly.

"Certainly is big." Fox commented, not sure as what to say.

"Lifelike too, don't you think?" Krystal mused, climbing up on the stand to look her twin in the unseeing eyes. As she looked, she could swear she sensed something like faint thought patterns emanating from the statue. She blinked, and the patterns disappeared.

"Krystal, something wrong?" Fox asked, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. Krystal looked back at him, shaking her head.

"No, it's nothing." Fox helped her down off the stand and they walked back out of the storage room, picking up their coffee on the way out.

Krystal collapsed onto the large living room couch, wiping a few stray locks out of her eyes. Fox sat down next to her, relaxing into the cushions. They both sighed contentedly.

"So, Fox," Krystal enquired. "What's on the agenda for today?"

Fox thought for a moment before answering. "Well, we've seen pretty much all there is to see here in the Walled City," Fox scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's been great seeing Tricky and all, but I think its time for a change of scenery." He looked over at his wife for approval, and she nodded assent.

"Yes, I think a change of scenery is just what we need. We've spent how many days here? 3? And I agree it's time to move on."

Fox nodded. "Tricky'll be sorry to see us go." Krystal took a sip of her coffee and sighed.

"Yes, but we'll drop in on our way back, right?" Fox nodded again.

"Yeah, I'd feel bad about leaving and not saying goodbye."

"Me, too." Krystal agreed putting down her coffee. "So, if we leave the city, where do we go?" Fox thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I don't care. Is there any place you'd like to go?" Krystal screwed up her face in thought, and drummed her fingertips on the coffee table in front of her.

"Why don't we head down to Thorntail Hollow?" Krystal said at last. "We can get most places from there, and from what you told me, it's sounds quite beautiful."

Fox nodded. "Alright. Do you want to take the ship, or do you feel like doing a little walking?"

"Let's use the shuttle and fly down there," Krystal chuckled. "I don't much fancy mountain climbing."

"Well, what I meant was take the path _through_ the mountains." Fox said sheepishly.

"Even so, let's take the ship." Krystal leaned over to give Fox a kiss. Fox responded and put her hands on her waist. They kissed about ten seconds then broke apart. Fox stood up and began walking towards the hatch.

"Where are you going?" Krystal called after him from the couch.

"I'm going to go tell Tricky we're leaving. I'll be back in a minute and then we can go." came Fox's reply. Krystal got up and took his hand.

"I'll go with you. I could use a little fresh air." Fox shrugged and hit the hatch release. The ramp lowered and the two vulpines walked out into the afternoon sun.

**Very short chapter. Like I said, no inspiration. Leave a review!**


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